This gig is a fairy tale come true

Tuesday

Sep 30, 2003 at 11:23 AM

By RYAN CHATELAINThe Courier

You may remember me. Chances are you don't.

I wrote for The Courier from 1999 to 2001, left for two years and last week, following in the footsteps of George Foreman, Michael Jordan, and Carlos Santana, made my comeback. In future weeks, I'll use this space to discuss the traditional sports issues du jour, such as how the only thing more embarrassing than losing a game 55-21 on national TV is having your mother discuss your Viagra prescription over Thanksgiving dinner. But this week I wanted to tell you a little bit about my time away from Houma.

For the past two years, I worked at a medical school urology department, reading and editing articles about everything from prostate cancer to sexual dysfunction, which might help explain my earlier Viagra joke -- not personal experience. Overall, the "job" -- that's really all it was to me -- was OK. I just had no passion for it. However, every day the sports-writer fire inside me burned brighter and brighter. After a while, you realize that it's more than a casual interest when you're at work with your Internet turned to ESPN Radio, visiting sports Web sites at every opportunity, and debating with the Turkish fellow on Tim Floyd's coaching skills. Sports writing is my calling. I guess, on some level I always knew that. Yet, I didn't know if I'd ever do it again.

You see, journalists make many sacrifices to do what they do. They often move from their hometowns, don't make a lot of money and work crazy hours.

For a short while, I lost sight of whether those sacrifices outweighed the rewards. Stepping away for two years put that more into perspective than ever before.

I always loved sitting in a press box watching a game, thinking to myself, "I can't believe these suckers are paying me for this!"

This is my dream profession. And I now consider myself to be one of life's lucky people to make a living doing something I truly love.

What's ironic is that I didn't see that sooner. I mean, the sports world is filled with motivational success stories of people who, at all costs, pursued their dreams.

Look at Jim Morris, the inspiration for the movie "The Rookie," and all the sacrifices he made at age 35 -- living on a minor-league salary, in more ways than one, and being away from his family -- to chase after his dream of playing in the majors.

In our own backyard, Michael Lewis busted his tail driving a Budweiser truck and playing in semi-pro football leagues until he finally got his chance in the NFL at 29 years of age, darn near elderly by football standards. Many would have given up long before then.

Even here in Terrebonne Parish, every high school coach, tasked with the dual challenge of serving as teachers and role models at a modest wage, are inspirations to me just for doing what they enjoy.

I'm not sure why this stuck with me the way it has, but I remember an English professor in college who quoted, of all things, the movie "Pretty Woman" during our final class. The quote: "I want the fairy tale." He stressed to us to never settle. Whether your fairy tale is playing professional sports for $25 million a year, being a teacher for $25,000 a year or anything else at all, go after it. I'm doing it again, and it sure beats the unimpassioned alternative.

Courier sports writer Ryan Chatelain may be reached at 857-2210 or ryan.chatelain@houmatoday.com.